Above: The
original 1893 wheel built by George Ferris at the
World Colombian Exposition at
Chicago.
The World's Fair, as it would later come to be known, was so well attended
that additional
hotels in
Chicago and housing were built to accommodate the employees, their
families and tourists.The
original wheel was a huge success; literally, the wheel was 250 feet in
diameter.There were 36 gondolas
which were loaded 6 at a time.
Each gondola was 27 feet long, 9 feet high and 13 feet wide.Try to imagine!The
original wheel was so big, its height was equal to the height of many
hotels.In fact, Dearborn
Station, an old railway building located in
Chicago, is exactly 250 feet tall.That's 1/5ththe size of the Sears
Tower!

Right: A view of the
gondolas from the second floor balcony. This gives some idea of the
scale of the model. The model has been recently restored by Ripley's and is now
fully operational.

It is the largest mobile Meccano/Erector model in the world,
Believe it or Not!

The model was originally built by Meccano S.A. in France. It was
shipped to the United States to promote the Company after they bought out the
"Erector" trade name. After being displayed in New York the model was
dismantled and shipped to Florida where it can still be viewed.

The perforated strips
that make up the spokes, shown in this photograph, have been replaced with quarter inch
axle rods. This was necessary to stop the model sagging under its own weight.
Click here
to view parts commonly used in Erector sets to build a ferris wheel.